BROOKS GLYC­ERIN 16

PRICE: R2 799 WEIGHT: 301 grams (M), 266 grams (W)

The name of the game for the Glyc­erin 16 is com­fort – plain and sim­ple. This neu­tral trainer is the plush­est pair Brooks has to of­fer right now, and de­lights run­ners who just want a shoe that feels in­dul­gent on the foot. While this makes it one of the heav­ier shoes in this guide, testers tell us the trade-off is worth it for one of the soft­est shoes you’ll find here.

Credit the new foam, dubbed ‘DNA Loft’, that amps com­fort over the pre­vi­ous model, with no loss of re­spon­sive­ness or dura­bil­ity. Fur­ther en­hanc­ing the plush ride is a slightly re­struc­tured mid­sole, di­vided into tran­si­tion zones to make your stride feel smoother and more nat­u­ral.

Be­tween the new foam and softer ride, our wear-testers ranked the Glyc­erin as one of the com­fier shoes they’ve laced up.